Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Commentary

Media Credit: Courtesy of Mct Campus Americans spend more than $500 million on internet dating services each year. [Click to enlarge]

Lonely? Had another suck-tastic dateless weekend? Don't worry, there's a simple solution at your fingertips. That's right, I'm talking about online dating.

Online dating is a world of its own (and one that I've spent a great deal of time exploring). These days, it's become much more than the cottage industry it used to be. According to Hitwise, Inc., there are more than 1,000 lifestyle and dating sites, which draw more than $500 million in American expenditures each year. In fact, dating sites have become the second largest sector of paid content on the Web.

Not surprisingly, the explosion in services offered often leads to a great deal of confusion. As if there weren't enough mystery in our love lives to begin with! But if you're daring enough to venture into the world of Internet romance, start by perusing the following list of love sites and reading through the descriptions of my experiences with each.

eHarmony.com: The self-proclaimed "No. 1 trusted relationship site" prides itself on the number of marriages that have resulted from their matchmaking system. If you go on their Web site, you can receive and review your matches for free. They don't mention, however, that you have to fill out a long, detailed questionnaire before seeing these matches.

If you're lucky enough to survive the questionnaire (which takes about an hour) you may or may not be accepted. That's right: eHarmony rejects people they don't think they can match with others. If you're accepted, you have the opportunity to purchase an overpriced membership, necessary in order to contact other members. I didn't get this opportunity, however, because I was a reject.

Craigslist personals: Instead of paying to print your personal ad in the newspaper, you can post it for free in Craigslist's personals section. As an added benefit, you can remain anonymous, revealing yourself only to those respondents who interest you. Be as obvious or as cryptic as you'd like. Post a picture or don't. Anything goes.

When I posted ads on Craigslist, I received over 80 replies in less than three days. Some of the responses were rather, well, interesting. One guy sent me a picture of himself and a dead boar, while several married men sent me photos with their wives skillfully cut out of the picture. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did.

OkCupid.com: Of all the sites I've joined, OkCupid is the one that's provided me with the most dates. Not only is the service free, but it also happens to be really fun. You can customize your profile much like a Facebook or MySpace page, upload lots of photos, keep a blog and create your own quizzes. There are thousands of user-created questions that a member can answer, and the more questions you answer, the better your chances of finding a higher match.

Chemistry.com, Match.com, etc.: Other than the sites listed above, most Internet dating sites are the same. You fill out a profile and can only contact matches if you become a member, which will typically cost about $30 per month. I have often found the same users registered on multiple sites. In my experience, if you join one of them, you have essentially joined them all.

Finally, if you're going to utilize online dating sites, please do so with care. The Internet is an amazing place, but it can also be scary. Though you're not a child, there are still dangers. So please be smart when hooking up with people from the net.

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